Welcome Margay Leah Justice, author of Sloan Wolf

What a gal! Margay offers this interview, and is it fun! Here’s a chance to learn more about this talented writer.

1. What is your favorite book? If I could only pick one, it has to be Pride and Prejudice. I know everyone says that, but it truly is just a brilliant piece of work and I’m constantly amazed by it.

2. Who is your favorite writer? If you’re talking about a modern author, the first one that always comes to mind is Julia Quinn – I love her Regencies, especially the series about the Bridgerton family. If you’re talking classic, it’s Jane Austen. Amazing.

3. What is your favorite writing cliché? To love or hate – or love to hate? The ‘write what you know’ one always gets to me. If you only write what you know, you’ll have a short career and a very narrow field to focus on. I think the whole idea of writing is to write what you want to know. If at first you don’t know anything about a subject you’re interesting in writing about – well, that’s what research is for. How many people who write science fiction have actually lived in outer space or went to battle with a Death Star?

4. What is your favorite word?Quesadilla. I don’t know why, but I just love saying that word – usually when I’m grocery shopping and see them in the freezer. Drives my poor daughter crazy.

5. What is your greatest fear when you first turn in a manuscript?That people won’t like it. When I write, I tend to fall in love with the characters and the stories they reveal to me, so I tend to take it personally if people don’t respond to that. I guess it’s just an overall fear of rejection.

6. In what era do you wish you’d been born? I think I should have been born in the Regency because that’s the era I seem to respond to the most. A close runner up is the golden age of the Victorian era, c. the 1890’s

7. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Words like really, just, only and that. Not sure about the phrases, though – I try hard to come up with new ones!

8. Which talent would you most like to have? I always wanted to play a musical instrument, like the violin or the piano.9. What do you consider your greatest achievement?My greatest achievement – motherhood. There’s nothing quite like the experience of bringing new life into the world and watching it grow and mature into vital adults with the world at their feet. I’m just so excited to witness what sort of imprints my children leave on the world.

10. Who is your favorite hero of fiction?There are so many, but I truly adore Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice and Captain Wentworth from Persuasion. Jane Austen sure knew how to write her heroes!

Great interview, ladies. I'm eager to have Margay stop by my blog soon.

I'm with you and Pat, life would be boring if I only wrote what I know. Do you know I have never read an Austen novel. Gasp! I have one or two on my Kindle now, though, so hopefully that will change before too long.

Thank you, Pat! And you are so right about the emotions and gaining experience over the years. I think that's one bit of writing "advice" that should be banned. If everyone wrote only what they knew, there wouldn't be science fiction or even paranormal stories – there's a lot of imagination involved in both.

Hello, Margay. I enjoyed your comments regarding writing what you know. You're right, of course. I tend to the notion that I write what I know about how people think and feel, and react to adverse events. Now that, a writer can really get into in a big way, especially after they've experienced life for a few decades. Good luck with your writing!PD

The Culinary Art of Murder, Book 6 of the Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries, is now available at Amazon!

Blurb:
Lee’s Uncle Tío is smitten with the lady guest chef at a Silicon Valley culinary art institute. When the lady is arrested for two murders, a fellow chef, and the dishwasher, Lee agrees to help find the real killer. But undercover work at the institute proves to be more dangerous than whipping up a chocolate soufflé. Can she find the murderer before her own goose is cooked? If it turns out to be the ambitious southern belle chef, will Tío ever forgive Lee for sending his new lady love to jail?

Honeymoons Can Be Murder is now available for download only at Amazon!

When PI Lee Alvarez goes on her honeymoon with bridegroom, Gurn Hanson, they find a dead woman practically on their doorstep. Kauai breezes may be soft, but there are gale force winds of accusation against Gurn. Will Lee find the real killer before her new hubby gets sent to a Hawaiian hoosegow?

Books

The reviews are in!
Bestthrillers.com - The Culinary Art of Murder "The Bottom Line: This cozy mystery has it all – romance, suspense, comedy and a detective you’ll fall hard for."